Inmate sentenced in jail-beating death

Dec. 2, 2011

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Miguel Guillen, 48, enters court in Santa Ana, CA on October 25, 2011, where an Orange County jury found him and four other defendants guilty of of second-degree murder in the Oct. 5, 2006, beating death of fellow inmate of John Chamberlain, 41, at Theo Lacy jail. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Louis Petrovich, 27, enters court in Santa Ana, CA on October 25, 2011, where an Orange County jury found him and four other defendants guilty of of second-degree murder in the Oct. 5, 2006, beating death of fellow inmate of John Chamberlain, 41, at Theo Lacy jail. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Stephen Paul Carlstrom, 42, enters court in Santa Ana, CA on October 25, 2011, where an Orange County jury found him and four other defendants guilty of of second-degree murder in the Oct. 5, 2006, beating death of fellow inmate of John Chamberlain, 41, at Theo Lacy jail. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Raul Villafana, 24, enters court in Santa Ana, CA on October 25, 2011, where an Orange County jury found him and four other defendants guilty of of second-degree murder in the Oct. 5, 2006, beating death of fellow inmate of John Chamberlain, 41, at Theo Lacy jail. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Garret Eugene Aguilar, 28, enters court in Santa Ana, CA on October 25, 2011, where an Orange County jury found him and four other defendants guilty of of second-degree murder in the Oct. 5, 2006, beating death of fellow inmate of John Chamberlain, 41, at Theo Lacy jail. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Miguel Guillen, 48, enters court in Santa Ana, CA on October 25, 2011, where an Orange County jury found him and four other defendants guilty of of second-degree murder in the Oct. 5, 2006, beating death of fellow inmate of John Chamberlain, 41, at Theo Lacy jail. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SANTA ANA – An Orange County judge Friday sentenced one of five inmates convicted of beating to death a fellow jailhouse prisoner to 15 years to life in prison.

Adding five years for a prior felony conviction, Miguel Guillen, 48, of Santa Ana, who was found guilty of second-degree murder in the Oct. 5, 2006, slaying of John Chamberlain, 41, at Theo Lacy jail, received a total of 20 years to life sentence.

Superior Court Judge James Stotler added the five years, which prosecutors asked for and the defense opposed, for the previous conviction.

In the Chamberlain case, the jury deliberated 11 days before also convicting Garret Eugene Aguilar, 28, and Stephen Paul Carlstrom, 42, both of Anaheim; Jared Louis Petrovich, 27, of Tustin; and Raul Villafana, 24, of Santa Ana.

They face prison terms of 15 years to life at their sentencings Jan. 27 by Stotler.

"He participated in a mass assault ... that was brutal and deadly," Stotler said during the sentencing.

While he felt Guillen was the only defendant in the case who showed some remorse, the judge said it was hard for him to accept that Guillen would have suffered violence if he hadn't participated in Chamberlain's beating.

There's "no justification or excuse" for the actions of Guillen or any of the other defendants, Stotler said.

"It's a sad case," he said.

Prosecutors said the inmates targeted Chamberlain because they believed he was a child molester. But Chamberlain had been awaiting trial on a misdemeanor charge of possessing child pornography.

He was punched, kicked and stomped on, and eventually lost consciousness. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

One former Theo Lacy jail inmate testified that he saw other prisoners beating Chamberlain, who crawled under a bunk for protection and whose muffled moans he could hear above the din of Barracks F West. One inmate, the witness said, struck Chamberlain "with the sort of passion of madness."

Another witness testified he saw attackers beat, pour hot water on, urinate on and sexually assault Chamberlain while the victim screamed.

Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh showed jurors photos of Chamberlain's face before and after the beating and said the defendants acted as the "judge, jury and executioner."

The after-beating picture showed Chamberlain barely recognizable, a tube in his mouth, eyes swelled shut, a man the prosecutor said had suffered ribs broken and fractured 43 places in the assault.

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